Another Stronghold, Really?
by AnnabelleLee4
Summary: Bree Fortezza is an odd girl, a drifter. Warren Peace is a loner, school badboy known for only his villainous father. They meet and form an odd friendship. But will all that change when he finds out Bree is more than just Will's friend? Warren/OFC. PG13-M
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sky High... if I did, I'd be one happy girl. I only own Bree...**

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The alarm started blaring at six o'clock, the echoes bouncing off the white walls of the darkened room. Bree groaned and reached over to hit the snooze button, pulling the blankets up over head and snuggling further into her pillow. There was a knock on the door next to hers and knew it was only a matter of time before there was a knock on hers.

"Bree. Come on, sweetheart."

"Do I really have to?"

"Yes, you have to. Just think about it, though, only a few years and then you can do whatever you want."

"That's a plus. How many years?" Her aunt laughed and flipped on the lights as she left the room. Bree pushed her blankets back and sighed deeply before she sat up. Hearing no movement from her cousin's room, she pushed herself out of bed and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

About half an hour later, she wrapped a towel around her body and turned on the fan in the bathroom as she went back to her room. She glanced into her cousin's room as she passed and saw him at his weight bench. Bree hurried into her room to grab her brush and tugged the towel off her head before going into her cousin's room.

"Come on," he muttered, trying to push the bar up into the air. She settled herself on his bed and started brushing her long black hair.

"Will," she started but he ignored her, concentrating with all his might to try and move the bar. Taking pity on him, she sighed and coaxed the bar up slightly. Will looked surprised for a moment before he realized he wasn't the one holding the bar up in the air. He set it back down and sat up, turning towards her. She shrugged and sent him an apologetic smile.

"I appreciate the help."

"Sorry, I know how important this is to you." He sighed deeply and looked at the multiple large weights lying haphazardly about his room.

"Will?" They looked up at each other at the same time and sprang into action. Bree set down her brush and picked up one weight while Will went to the other side of the bar and slid another onto his end. She jumped out of his way as he moved over by her and pushed another onto the bar before hurrying back to the other side to finish pushing on a weight Bree had picked up with her power as she ran out of his room.

She hurriedly shut his door behind her and slid into her room, flipping on her stereo as she headed to her closet. Humming along to the songs on the radio, she pulled on her clothes for the day: a turquoise baby-tee and white Capri's. Bree then went to her mirror and started on her hair, putting in some of her scrunching gel to help her curls stay when she heard a crash from next door. Setting down her makeup she ran into the hallway to see what had happened.

"Will, are you okay? What was that?" she asked, approaching him when she saw him lying on his back, clutching a weight to his chest as he carefully got off his broken bed.

"He… threw a weight… at me," he gasped out, letting her take the weight as he felt his chest.

"You're okay?" she pressed, reaching out to check him but he shook his head at her.

"I'll be fine in a minute. Just, let me catch my breath again." She smiled at him, releasing his shoulders and walking back to her room once he convinced her he was okay. Bree quickly finished putting on her eye liner and light colored eye shadow to accent her blue eyes before she shook out her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail, the blonde streaks in her hair really standing out. Satisfied, she grabbed her bag and walked downstairs.

"Commander, huh?" she heard her uncle say as she entered the kitchen, waving at Layla as she set her backpack down by her chair. "Oh, thanks, Layla."

"I can't believe you and Will are starting high school. Seems like only yesterday you were swimming naked in the kiddie pool."

"Mom!" Will said, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat. "Hi, Layla." Josie walked over to the table and set a plate for Will and handed Layla a glass of juice.

"Thank you, she replied, smiling up at Josie and picking up the glass as a cell phone started ringing. Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a red cell phone as his wife went to the counter.

"Josie, it's… the other one. Go," he said, leaning away from the table slightly as Will looked over at the girls and rolled his eyes. "I see. Thank you, Mayor. There's trouble downtown. Big trouble. Downtown."

"Oh, shoot, and I really wanted to see Will of to the bus. I remember his first day of preschool, he wouldn't let go of my leg," Josie told the girls, causing Bree to choke on her juice as she fought back a laugh when she saw the look on her cousin's face.

"Mom!" Will pleaded, turning to look at his mom.

"Oh!"

"Josie," Steve said from the counter as Josie leaned down to kiss Will's cheek before exiting the kitchen. "Oh, Will, uh, a reminder. A lot of kids at Sky High will only have one superhero parent, not two, so take it easy on them, huh? No showing off."

"Aw, dad. Not to worry. I'll keep it low-key."

"Steve!"

"Gotta go!" Will rolled his eyes as his dad ran off and Bree stood up with her plate.

"Really, Will? Naked in the kiddie pool, huh?"

"Let it go, Bree!" Will said, following her to the sink and cleaning off his plate before grabbing the remote to the kitchen TV and hopping up on the counter. Layla and Bree stood on either side of him as he flipped on the morning news.

"_...reports of a situation downtown. Let's check with a picture from News Chopper Five. Evil has struck our morning commute. Here's a hint. If you're traveling eastbound on the 115 you might think about alternate routes. Hang on. This just in. The Commander and Jetstream are on their way._"

"That has got to be the saddest looking evil robot I have ever seen," Bree commented when the news channel zoomed in on the robot that was terrorizing the citizens. Will just sent her a look and she shrugged her shoulders at him as they looked back to the TV, when the camera zoomed in on the Commander and Jetstream. Jetstream quickly circled around the robot before releasing the arms of the Commander, who dove right for the robot's chest and punched it, creating rippling reaction along the surface at it fell backwards.

"O_h! And the robot goes down! He's plucking out a souvenir from another successful battle. What a team! The Commander and Jetstream. What would we do without them?_"

"They are good," Will said with a heavy sigh as he turned off the TV. Layla and Bree exchanged a look as he jumped down from the counter top and grabbed his backpack before they all walked out the front door. Bree took out her MP3 player and turned on her music as she walked two steps behind her friend and cousin, half listening to their conversation.

"Now, I know it's just our first day, but I already can't wait to graduate and start saving mankind," Layla said excitedly before she paused and continued. "And womankind. And animal-kind."

"And the rain forest," Will added and Layla nodded.

"And the oceans," Bree put in, letting them know she was in on their conversation.

"Of course."

"Hello, kids!" Bree glanced up at the voice and raised her hand to wave at their neighbor.

"Hi, Mrs. Kibbitch," all three replied, walking to the end of the street where their bus stop was.

"I just feel really good about this year."

"Yeah, should be great," Will replied, his voice laced with light sarcasm, as a bus rolled to a stop in front of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sky High... if I did, I'd be one happy girl. I only own Bree...  
Quick note... '**Fortezza**' is Italian and roughly translates to '**Stronghold**' in English...**

**_**A/N: Pictures are officially up on my homepage. Look for the album '_**_Another Stronghold'******_**  
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"Morning!" the bus driver said as he opened the doors for them and all three got onto the bus.

"Mornin'," Will replied, looking around at the kids on the bus as he paused at the top of the stairs. "Is this the bus to Sky High?"

"Sh!" the driver hissed, quickly shutting the door and almost catching Bree in it. She glared at the bus driver and as she opened her mouth Layla shook her head at her. "What are you, crazy? Do you want every super-villain in the neighborhood to know we're here?"

"No, no. Sorry," Will stammered, taking one step forward when the bus driver held out his hand and stopped him.

"What's your name, freshman?"

"Um, Will Stronghold." The driver immediately paled and Bree rolled her eyes.

"Here we go again," she muttered under her breath, leaning against the railing with a heavy sigh.

"The son of the Commander and Jetstream?" Will nodded and the driver gulped before standing up, putting his hands on Will's shoulders and turning him towards the other kids on the bus. "Everyone! It's Will Stronghold! Son of the Commander and Jetstream! I'm Ron Wilson, Sky High bus driver. If I can make your journey more comfortable, let me know. You two! Up! The seat behind Ron Wilson belongs to Will Stronghold."

"It would be an honor!" a geeky boy with glasses said, immediately standing up and Bree pretended to gag.

"You don't have to," Will told him, hating all the attention that was now focused on him.

"No, I want to. You're third generation, man. Magenta, get up," he told the girl next to him, who looked at him like he was crazy before looking back at Will.

"Why? He only needs one seat."

"So he can sit with his girlfriends."

"Layla and Bree? Oh, no, they're just my friends," he quickly told them and Bree could see Layla's shoulders drop at his comment.

"Yeah, totally. He's like my brother," Layla said with a smile, though the tone of her voice gave away her disappointment to Bree. As they took a step towards the back, the kid sitting across from the geeky boy and Magenta stood up.

"Oh, well, in that case, hi," he said, taking off his glasses, "I'm Larry." Layla looked startled and glanced back quickly at Bree, who shook her head and pushed her friend forward.

"Not a good time," she hissed at Larry, who sent her a frown as he sat back down. Will led them towards the back of the bus, where one kid stood up and waved them over.

"Yo, Will. Hey, how you doin'? Hey, Layla," he said, clasping hands with Will as he sat next to him and waving at Layla as she took the seat across from the two boys. Bree nodded at the boy though she didn't know who he was and took a seat next to a girl behind her cousin. Will saw Zach look Bree over quickly before looking at him with a frown.

"Oh, Zach, this is my cousin, Bree. Bree, my friend Zach."

"Nice to meet you," Zach said enthusiastically, reaching over the back of his seat to offer her his hand. She raised an eyebrow at him but took his hand.

"Hi," she said coolly, sending Will a look before she settled back against her seat.

"How you doin'? How was your summer?" Will asked his friend as he sat back down, still eying Bree curiously.

"To be honest, it was tough, man. T-U-P-H. I was seriously sweatin' it. My dad going, 'Zach, I powered up before I started shaving'. And here's me, dude, halfway through August, and zip."

"Oh, so you… you don't have your powers," Will said, lowering his voice and Bree heard the hope in his voice.

"You think I'd even show up today if that happened? No. No, no. Woke up a few days ago and… bam!" Zach said, clapping his hands together for emphasis and startling both Will and Layla who had leaned in when he paused.

"That's great. So, what-what is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and see like everyone else. But it's awesome, man. It's awesome!" he said, turning to look at the two girls behind him. Will turned around when Zach did to look at the girl next to Bree.

"Hi."

"Come on. It's not like you ever powered up in front of us." Will was about to respond when the bus stopped suddenly, making everyone grab onto the seat in front of them to stop themselves from falling off their seats.

"Sorry!" Ron said, opening the door for a student. "Morning! That's everyone. Next stop, Sky High!" Ron took off down the road and Layla looked around as the bus swerved onto a blocked off street.

"Where are we?"

"Hang on back there! We're goin' off-road." The students all looked out the windows to see where they were heading when Bree noticed that the road ahead of them stopped abruptly. "Here we go!" The bus sped off the end of the road and began free-falling.

"Bree!" Layla said, clutching the seat in front of her. Just as Bree began to concentrate, the bus stopped falling and floated slightly as Ron pushed some buttons and pulled a few levers. Wings appeared on the side of the bus and straps held the kids to the seats as a bar came down on their laps. A loud rumbling started up and the bus shot off, the loud rumbling coming from the rockets that had appeared on the back of the bus.

"Yee-hoo!" Ron yelled, glancing back at the screaming kids. "Pff! Freshmen."

"This is insane!" a kid shouted from the back of the bus just before it slowed down and they exited a cloud, seeing a floating building off the right side of the bus.

"There she is. Sky High. Kept aloft by the latest in antigravitational propulsion. She is in constant motion as a precaution against those who otherwise might have nefarious plans, her location supplied only to a few highly qualified individuals such as myself, Ron Wilson, bus driver. Smooth and easy," he muttered as he maneuvered the bus towards the building and lowered it to the ground.

"Whoa!" came from all the kids as the bus jolted to a stop and Ron looked up sheepishly as he opened the door.

"Sorry! Word of advice! Don't miss the bus, 'casue the bus waits for no one. Except for you, Will Stronghold! You ever running late, running early, or you just want to talk… give me a call."

"Thanks, Ron," Will said, taking the offered card.

"Seriously!" Bree laughed at Will as they walked with Zach and Layla towards the school. There were kids hanging around on the front lawn, some using their powers, and off to their right was a cheer squad made up of copies of one girl doing a welcoming cheer. Suddenly, there was a form running around them, pushing everyone in closer together.

"Hey, freshmen! Your attention, please," a large boy said, appearing in front of them as he stopped running. Another boy approached them, stretching out his body as he moved down the steps and stopped next to his friend.

"I'm Lash," he said, turning to his friend before he continued. "Uh, this is Speed. And as representatives of the Sky High welcoming committee…"

"We'd be happy to collect that $15 new student fee," Speed said, as Lash stuck out his arm in front of the geeky kid from the bus.

"Um, there was nothing about a new student fee in the handbook," he said, looking at the two bullies.

"Because there isn't one," Bree said, pushing her way through the freshmen who had separated her from her cousin, standing in front of the freshmen, hands on her hips. "Get lost, guys."

"Okay, guys. Very funny. I'll take it over from here," a dark-haired girl said, walking over to the group and motioning for the boys to leave. Bree watched them go, taking note of the way they kept looking back at her before she returned her attention to the girl in front of her. "And you are..?"

"Bree Fortezza. Can you tell me where the gym is?" She heard the whispers start up from the freshman behind her and the look on the girl's face instantly put Bree on her guard.

"Stronghold? I didn't know the Commander and Jetstream had a daughter," the girl said, sounding too interested for her own good.

"They don't," she replied sweetly, her face holding a bored look. "Gym?"

"If you're a freshman, you'll all be going there together shortly," the girl said matter-of-factly, her voice still sickly sweet.

"Uh, if I was a freshman I wouldn't be asking these questions." The girl looked slightly taken aback and Bree sighed. "Never mind. Catch you guys later," she said, waving over her shoulder at Will and Layla before heading up the steps, keenly aware of the three sets of eyes on her retreating back. She had a feeling she knew who two of them belonged to but the third was a mystery. She walked through the hall, looking around for the gym, when she was stopped by a very professional looking lady.

"Ms. Stronghold!" She cringed as the lady called after her, using her last name. "Follow me, please." She felt the eyes of the students on her as she followed who she assumed was the principal. "I am Principal Powers. Your aunt called and informed me of your situation. Instead of having you go through Power Placement with the freshmen I'll have Coach Boomer place you now so you can run through you schedule instead of starting late tomorrow."

"Thank you," she said sincerely, glad she wouldn't have to start late and be embarrassed by the teachers.

"Boomer!" Powers called out, her voice echoing in the empty gym. A man wearing shorts, a t-shirt and a light jacket came out of the gym office, clipboard in hand. "I have a new student here, she's a sophomore."

"What's your name, girly?" Boomer asked, crossing his arms as she approached him.

"Okay, first of all, don't call me 'girly'," she replied, placing her hands on her hips.

"What's your name?"

"Bree." He rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms.

"Bree what?" he asked her, looking over his list of sophomores.

"Fortezza." Coach Boomer glanced up at Powers in surprise, a frown on his face. Bree wasn't sure what she signaled him over her shoulder but he quickly composed himself. She heard the clicking of Principal Powers' heels as she exited the gym, leaving Bree alone with Boomer.

"Fortezza, huh? Well, let's see what you got. Car!" he shouted, pulling out a remote from his pocket and pressing a button. She felt the air changing at the same time a metallic groaning reverberated throughout the gym. Letting out a deep sigh, she quickly pushed the air up and away from her, sending the car into the wall with a loud crash. He pressed another button and the floor beneath her suddenly sprang up, sending her flying but she moved the air around herself, creating a cushion, and lowered herself gently to the ground.

"You're an element, eh?" She nodded and held up her right hand, creating a small cloud. As Boomer continued to watch, the cloud grew darker and small rain drops fell to the ground. "Air and water?"

"If I really concentrate, I can make it snow. Or, instead of water, I can make ice by lowering my body temperature."

"Hero," he stated, a smirk on his face as he wrote something down on his clipboard. Principal Powers re-entered the gym then, a small smile on her face.

"Thank you, Coach Boomer," she said, stopping just behind Bree and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just follow me and we'll get your schedule." Bree nodded and followed the principal out of the gym and to her office. There were still a few people milling about in the hallway, though she knew it was almost time for homeroom. She picked up her schedule and hurried out the door, almost running to find her homeroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sky High... if I did, I'd be one happy girl. I only own Bree...  
Quick note... '**Fortezza**' is Italian and roughly translates to Stronghold in English...**

_****A/N: Pictures are officially up on my homepage. Look for the album '**__Another Stronghold'__****  


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It didn't take her long to figure out the direction she needed to go: the Mad Science lab had warnings in all the surrounding hallways. She walked in quietly, her eyes scanning the room quickly for an open seat in the back as she walked up to the teacher's desk.

"Yes, can I help you?" Bree silently handed Mr. Medulla her schedule and the note from Principal Powers. "I see. Well, Miss…" he glanced up at her from the note, "Fortezza, take a seat." She nodded and took her schedule from him and headed toward the back of the room. There was a guy sitting in the back with an open book on his desk and a wide circle of empty desks around him so she took a seat two desks away from him.

The room grew quiet as she sat down and pulled out her own book and her MP3 and went into her own little world, quietly ignoring the stares and whispers that started up amongst the other students. She felt a familiar pair of eyes on her and looked up to meet the eyes of the guy two desks over from her. He must have been the third person watching her walk into the school this morning.

They looked each other over quickly before returning to their books, though now mildly curious as to who the other person was. Bree thought the guy was fairly good-looking, even with the bad boy aura that radiated from him. His eyes were dark brown and when she had first sat down she thought she had seen a flicker of flames dancing in those eyes but now she wasn't so sure.

She read her book throughout all of homeroom, completely tuning out the other students as they tried to secretly watch her out of the corners of their eyes and glancing her way every now and then. Bree shook her head, wondering why they had taken such an interest in her.

Thinking maybe it had something to do with the guy they all seemed to want to avoid, she glanced over at him to find him glaring at a couple of students who had moved towards them. They immediately backed away, terrified looks on their faces and she smirked to herself, knowing she had been right when she had labeled him as the resident 'bad boy'. He caught her smirk and narrowed his eyes at her as the bell rang but she simply sent him a smile as she picked up her bag and walked out of the classroom.

Bree made it through all of her morning classes without incident, the teachers didn't make a show out of her being the new student and only a few people approached her about being related to the Commander. Not that she didn't love her uncle, she loved him to death but she just hated the fact that people were enamored with her, so to speak, because she was related to him.

By the time her language class let out for lunch, she just wanted to find a small quiet room to curl up in and sleep. She made her way to the lunchroom with her MP3 player turned on and her mind on things other than where she was going and almost ran into the boy from her homeroom. She sent him an apologetic smile and moved around him without bothering to see if he was going to say something to her as she walked into the cafeteria and got in line with her cousin when he waved her over.

"So, how are your classes going?" he asked her, following her through the lunch line and taking note of the tired look on her face.

"They're okay." He nodded at her answer and she linked her arm with his as they waited for the rest of Will's new friends to catch up to them before they went looking for a table where they could all sit together.

"That's not cool," Zach said to his friends, still unhappy with his position as sidekick. "I tell you, Boomer will regret making me a sidekick. All right? Someday it'll be dark, he'll be all alone, walking to his car. He'll drop his keys and I won't glow to help him find 'em." Bree had to struggle to keep her laughter inside as they passed by a table where Boomer was sitting down, his back to the group, but when Zach passed he stood up.

"You got a problem with me?"

"Uh, no."

"No, what?"

"No, sir. No, sir! No, sir!" Zach stuttered, glancing back for support when the form of Boomer suddenly shifted into the form of a tall, gangly boy who smiled at Zach and hit his arm.

"Just messin' with you, sidekick," he said as he walked away.

"You're not supposed to use your powers outside of the school gym!" Ethan called after them and Bree shook her head at him.

"Really, Ethan. That's the kind of thing that will get you a swirly. Popular kids never follow the rules," she said, unaware of the smoldering eyes that were watching her and her friends.

Will spotted an open table and he led them towards it, walking around to sit down on the bench. As he did so, he noticed someone sitting at a table not too far away, staring at him and Bree, dislike written all over his face. When everyone sat down, Bree took the open spot on the other side of Will and, seeing where her cousin was looking, glanced up and saw the guy from her homeroom so she sent him a quick smile as she sat down.

"Am I crazy, or is that guy really looking at us?"

"Dude," Zach said, his voice low as he looked up to see who Will was talking about.

"What?"

"That's Warren Peace."

"_That's_ Warren Peace?" Layla asked, sounding unimpressed.

"Yeah."

"Oh, I've heard about him. His mom's a hero and his dad's a super-villain. Barron Battle."

"Where do we come in?"

"What do you mean, 'we'? He doesn't know we're related yet," Bree told him, her voice cheerful as he glared at her wordlessly.

"Okay, where do I come in?"

"Your dad busted his dad," Ethan said matter-of-factly. "Quadruple life sentence."

"No chance of parole until after his third life," Magenta added and Bree shook her head.

"Ouch, dude."

"That's great. My first day of Sky High and I already have an archenemy. Hm," he said, slamming his drink down onto his tray and looking calm for a second before the mask broke. "Is he still lookin'?"

"No," Layla said after glancing behind them, turning to her salad with renewed vigor.

"No?"

"No." Bree almost choked on her drink as she held back a laugh when her cousin glanced over his shoulder and made eye contact with Warren.

"I thought you said he wasn't looking," Will said through clenched teeth and Layla only shrugged helplessly, sending him an apologetic smile. Bree couldn't help but laugh and she nudged his arm gently. He pushed back and after she pushed him again he smiled and shook his head with a laugh.

Lunch seemed to move quickly for Bree as she got to know Will's sidekick friends and learned that Layla had, not surprisingly, refused to participate in Power Placement, landing her as a sidekick. Will informed her that he was supposed to be the first one to go after lunch and she could feel his apprehension.

"Don't worry about it, Will," she told him when they stood up and walked to throw their garbage away. "True friends won't care if you're a hero or a sidekick."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Besides, you're a hero in my world," she replied with a smile, nudging him with her hip as they returned to the table to grab their things. His friends were waiting for them and once everyone was ready they left as a group, Bree bringing up the rear.

"So, Bree, where did you get placed?" Zach asked her after Magenta and Ethan left to go to their next class. She glanced at Will with a questioning look and he shook his head at her.

"Okay, first of all, you can stop flirting because Will has this thing about me dating his friends," she told Zach gently and he looked startled for a moment before he caught himself. "And I was placed in Hero class. Oh, joy."

"Cool! So, what's your power?"

"She's an element," Layla answered for her, pulling Zach into another conversation to save Bree from any further questions as Will ran into someone heading in the opposite direction. Bree almost groaned out loud when she saw who it was.

"I'm…" Will started, unable to speak any more.

"Will Stronghold," Gwen said, a large smile covering her face.

"Aha! Mind reader!"

"No. Name-tag," she replied and Bree had to stop herself from slapping her hand against her forehead.

"Right," Will said, sounding sheepish and glancing over at his friends, who were looking at him with their eyes raised. "Uh… uh, these are my friends. That's Zach."

"What's up?"

"Bree," he said, turning to his cousin who simply glowered at both of them and he quickly turned to Layla. "And…"

"Layla. Got it. I'm Gwen," she said, glancing around at all of them quickly, her eyes stopping quickly on Bree before they settled on Layla.

"Hi," Layla said nervously.

"I love your skirt!"

"Th-thanks," she said, glancing down at her skirt as Gwen turned her attention back to Will.

"So, how's Power Placement going?"

"Um, great," Will said, fidgeting slightly under her gaze.

"I'm not surprised. Listen, I need a freshman rep for the homecoming committee and it would be cool if we could talk about it sometime over lunch." Bree had seen Will space out as Gwen talked and knew he hadn't heard half of what she had just said.

"I eat lunch," he said with a small laugh and this time Bree didn't stop herself as she raised her hand and put it against her forehead as she shook her head with a groan.

"How cute is he?" Gwen said with a laugh, looking at the two who stood by with slightly confused looks on their faces.

"Adorable," Bree said, her voice full of sarcasm as she moved from her spot next to Layla to stand next to Will and slightly in front of him.

"I guess I'll see you guys around," Gwen said, slightly disappointed but she hid it fairly well from everyone but Bree.

"Yeah."

"Bye," she replied, smiling at Will as she pushed passed Bree and running into Layla, trying to seem innocent but Layla was pushed a little too roughly for it to be innocent.

"I don't think she really liked my skirt," Layla said as she and Zach started walking towards their lockers as Will watched Gwen go before turning around and running into someone. He looked up to apologize and came face to face with Warren. He opened his mouth and thought better of it, quickly looking away and reaching back for Bree's arm.

"I can't believe… her!" Bree said, still looking after Gwen's retreating back when Will tugged on her arm. "You know I have class that… oh!"

"Come on, Bree," Will muttered under his breath when he turned back to look at her. She had run right into Warren when Will had pulled on her arm, knocking both Warren and Bree back half a step. Warren's eyes were on her immediately, flames dancing in them and wiping away her doubt from earlier. She took a quick breath in and caught his scent. It enveloped her senses as Will pulled her away from Warren, who watched them say their good-byes before separating and going their own ways.

Bree waved to her cousin as he ran to the nearest boys' bathroom and ducked into its relative safety as she went to her locker to switch out her language book and binder for her Mad Science books. Still feeling eyes on her, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Warren standing at the end of the hallway, watching her as she looked back at him before he went down the hallway. She sighed as she shut her locker, dodging a few freshmen as she made her way to her Mad Science class.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sky High... if I did, I'd be one happy girl. I only own Bree... and any other unknown characters that may pop up later on  
Quick note... '**Fortezza**' is Italian and roughly translates to '**Stronghold**'** **in English...**

_****A/N: Pictures are officially up on my homepage. Look for the album '**__Another Stronghold'__****  
**A/N 2: '**Freize**' is pronounced '**Freeze**'. I went to high school with a girl named Jordan Freize... and I couldn't resist...****_

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Since she had been to the Mad Science room for homeroom, it was one of the easier classrooms for her to find that day. Kids were running frantically for their classes, desperate to get there before the bell rang while others walked down the hallways calmly, obviously upperclassmen who knew where they were going and how long it would take them to get there. She walked into the room right as the bell rang, earning her a disapproving look from Mr. Medulla as she walked in.

"How nice of you to join us, Miss Fortezza," he said, to which she sent him an apologetic look and headed for one of the desks. "Don't bother sitting, I was just about to assign lab partners."

"But, Mr. Medulla, can't we pick our partners this year?" a girl asked and Bree looked her over, deciding immediately that the girl needed to wear longer skirts.

"No, you may not, Ms. Freize. Now, up in front we will have…" Bree tuned him out for a moment, leaning against the wall by the door as Medulla pointed out who would be sitting where before he said her name. "And Bree, you will be partnered with Mr. Peace." Bree immediately looked up, startled to find him in her class. He didn't even look at her as he moved to their table and sat down. She felt the eyes of the other students on her as she made her way to the back of the room and sitting down next to him.

They glanced at each other and Warren mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of questions from Stronghold's friend but she simply turned her attention to her books and didn't bother him. He was slightly surprised and watched her with a frown on his face for a moment while Mr. Medulla started talking and when the teacher coughed, he pulled his attention away from her. Bree glanced at him from corner of her eyes curiously but kept quiet.

Medulla lectured for 10 minutes before instructing them to work with their partners on a worksheet he handed out to them and to find the answers in their books, a sort of 'treasure hunt' he called it, as an easy project for the first day of classes. The class, including Bree, groaned at the announcement and she opened her book as Medulla handed her two packets. Warren took the packet from her without a word and pulled out his books.

"Let's get started," he said gruffly and she turned to look at him in surprise. He saw the look she sent him but was surprised himself when she didn't say anything about it.

"Okay, um, 'explain the difference in the structure of a freeze ray and a heat ray'. Well, obviously one freezes things and the other heats things."

"The book explains it right here," Warren told her, leaning over to point out the paragraph in the text.

"Thanks," she told him, the surprise she was feeling coming out in her voice.

"What, you didn't think I was smart?"

"No, I never said that," she answered, placing one finger in the book as she copied down the information. "You just don't seem like the kind to be so textbook-savvy."

"You aren't scared of me?"

"Not really. You haven't done anything to scare me."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Uh, duh. You're Warren Peace. The whole school avoids you and talks about you in these hushed whispers. How did you find that so fast?"

"This is one of my best classes. Number two is on page 34, in the third paragraph."

"Lucky you. Mad Science is definitely not one of my best classes. Oh, half of number three is in the paragraph below that. Did you find the second part?" They continued to work quietly together, getting the farthest in the packet due to Warren's ease with the subject.

Mr. Medulla stopped them a few minutes before the bell rang and went around collecting the packets. Bree held out her hand to take Warren's packet and when he handed it to her their hands touched and she was startled when she felt how warm his hand was. Medulla looked over their packets as she looked at Warren, her eyes questioning.

"Mr. Peace, you really shouldn't let Miss Fortezza do all the work."

"Actually, Mr. Medulla, Warren did do all the work. I was a bit lost," Bree said, wondering why she had come to his defense so quickly and by the look Warren was giving her, he was wondering the same thing.

"Hm. Well, excellent job, then, Mr. Peace. Miss Fortezza, please do not make a habit out of this." She nodded sheepishly at the teacher and turned back to find Warren studying her intently. The bell rang before he could open his mouth to ask her anything and she hurried out of the room, worried that maybe he had made a connection between her and Will.

Once she was out in the hallway, she realized she had no idea where her next class was. Bree walked to her locker quickly to switch her books and then checked her map of the school, sighing when she saw the room was on the over side of the building. She quickly made her way to the classroom and when she walked in she had to stop herself from groaning.

Leaning against the teacher's desk was Warren, both his hands on the desk and not sparing her a glance even though the teacher did when she walked in. The two finished whatever conversation they had been having when she stopped at the desk and she frowned to herself as Warren walked back to his desk. Without a word and before the teacher could say anything, Bree handed her the note.

"Thank you, Miss Fortezza. Please have a seat." Bree took the note back and looked for an open seat, sighing when she saw the only open seats were surrounding Warren in the corner. There were a few kids from their Mad Science in the room but the majority had not been in there, and everyone was surprised when she sat next to him. They both ignored each other as the teacher stood up and moved around her desk to lean against it.

"Welcome back, everyone. Since we have a new student, I'm going to have introductions." Bree closed her eyes and sighed, sinking down in her seat when she heard that. "Since almost everyone in here knows each other, I'm going count on you to introduce yourselves to our new student, Miss Bree Fortezza. I'm Mrs. Alexander. Now, this year we are going to be studying…"

"Thank the gods," Bree muttered, gaining a curious look from Warren as Mrs. Alexander went to the board and started writing down the curriculum for the week. She started writing in her notebook without really paying much attention to what Mrs. Alexander was saying, she had already learned part of the material and History was her favorite subject. The class passed quickly for her and Mrs. Alexander sat down with five minutes to go, letting the class have the rest of the time to themselves.

"Did you get any of what she said?" a deep voice asked from next to her, causing her to open her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Can I see your notes?" Warren said quietly, trying not to get the attention of anyone else in the class. She raised her eyebrow but handed over her notebook without a word. He hadn't finished when the bell rang and he closed her notebook, trying to hand it back to her but she gave it right back.

"Keep it. You can give it to me tomorrow," she told him, waving as she picked up her backpack and walked out of the room. A few people looked curiously after her and then looked back at Warren who glared at them as he walked out of the room and towards the gym.

"Bree!" She paused and turned to look at the voice behind her and smiled when she saw her red-headed friend running after her.

"Hey, Layla! Where's Will?"

"He's in the nurse's office."

"What?"

"Boomer tried to make him fly, because after he found out he didn't have his dad's powers he figured he had his mom's so…"

"How did he take it?" Bree asked and Layla knew who she was talking about.

"Not so good. He's worried about how Mr. Stronghold will take it." She nodded, understanding his fears. Her uncle wanted so badly to have his only son take up the family legacy and both Steve and Josie wanted to have a family of superheroes, the 'Stronghold Four' as Steve fondly named them.

"So, did you guys finish Power Placement?"

"Yeah, we get to hang around for the gym class. Save the Citizen, of course."

"Save the Citizen? What kind of suffering do I have to go through now?"

"Basically, there are two teams: heroes and villains. There is a dummy suspended over this mulcher and the two heroes have three minutes to disable the villains and 'save the citizen'."

"Great," Bree said with a roll of her eyes. "This is going to be a great year."

* * *

Layla and Magenta sat on either side of Bree, each sharing their own story of how the day had gone for them as they half-watched the games going on in the arena below them. Bree decided that the three other sidekicks that Layla and Will had started hanging out with were good kids, and it was refreshing to have someone with an attitude like hers. She had a feeling that she would get along with Magenta just fine.

Bree's attention had moved completely to Zach who was talking about a summer party he and Will had a few years ago and she was laughing so much she didn't hear her name being called. She sensed something was different but as it wasn't bothering her she paid it no attention until she felt something moving through the air toward her.

With a slight flick of her wrist the object, which was the head of the unfortunate 'citizen' from the last game, was pushed off its crash-course with her head and to her right where it was then burned to ashes. This got her attention and she looked up at the brooding pyro, who was sitting quietly and staring down into the arena with flames dancing in his eyes. Once again Bree felt a tug in her heart for him, knowing what it was like to be the outsider before Layla nudged her shoulder and pointed down at Boomer.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Fortezza. Go change."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Change, Fortezza. As in, go take off your clothes and put on your gym clothes and gear." Even from her seat Bree could see the glint in Lash's eyes when he spoke.

"Watch it, Stripes. I don't need gym as an excuse to beat your scrawny little asmm… behind into next week." She turned away from Boomer after catching herself, pulling off an 'oops' for Layla's sake.

"Why don't you come and prove it. We choose Freize, too." Bree saw the blonde girl from her Mad Science class get up with a small cheer from her friends and she rolled her eyes.

"Why does life insist on torturing me?"

"It could be worse. At least Freeze Girl can actually do something," Magenta said though she shared Bree's opinion of the blonde ice-girl. She stood and stretched out her arms before bounding down the bleachers and heading for the locker room, passing a girl from an earlier round as she left. Bree went to her locker and quickly threw on her gym clothes, hurriedly pulling the padding over her legs and grabbing the top half as she made her way out of the locker room just as Freeze Girl walked in.

"I'd like to get this over with sometime today," Bree said to her, not looking up as she finished buckling the belt around her waist, earning a glare from Freeze Girl. She walked out into the arena, adjusting the protective padding self-consciously as she waited for her partner.

"Where's your teammate?" Lash taunted, crossing his arms and looking every bit the smug and cocky boy as his reputation said.

"Taking her time, prettying herself up for some ungodly reason," Bree snorted, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, her face calm and not at all intimidated by the two boys.

"And you didn't pretty yourself up for me?"

"Uh, no. It's gym class, why would I want to 'pretty up' if I'm going to be working out?" She looked up when there were a few disgusted gasps and out of the corner of her eyes she saw Boomer smiling in satisfaction at her, obviously proud of her statement.

"What you actually like getting all sweaty?" one of Freeze Girl's friends asked, her nose scrunched up as she looked down at Bree.

"Does anybody?" Bree replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't really see the point in prettying up for gym. That and I just like gym class."

"Who do you think you are, a guy?" There were a few snickers from the bleachers but she ignored them, rolling her eyes as she pushed away from the edge of the arena and turned to look at Freeze Girl.

"Oo, am I supposed to feel dissed? Because I really don't."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just your normal, non-spoiled daddy's girl."

"Are you trying to say that…"

"Okay, teams. Let's get ready. Lash, Speed, what do you want to be?"

"Villains!" Speed said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Boomer rolled his eyes and motioned for the girls to get ready.

"You go for Lash, I'll get Speedy Gonzales over there," Bree said, quickly dropping down into a defensive position as Boomer readied his timer.

"Why? Shouldn't I trip up Speed?"

"No! Go for Lash!"

"But that doesn't make any…"

"Go!" Bree had sent her an exasperated look and wasn't looking when the whistle blew. Speed took off immediately and ran into both girls, sending them flying.

"Can't you listen? Go get Lash!" She felt the air rapidly changing around her and raised her hand, pulling the air away from Speed. He gasped as the air was forced out of his lungs and he stopped, putting a hand to his chest in surprise. Bree released her hold on the air, Speed falling to his knees at the sudden change just as a few bolts of ice were shot past her shoulder.

"Get Lash, Fortezza!"

"Are you crazy?"

"I've got… ah!" Bree wanted to smack her head against the ground for the blonde's idiocy and turned to see Freeze Girl wrapped in Lash's arm. She attempted to get up but Speed was moving again by that time. He ran at her and grabbed her by the waist as he ran around the arena with her, making her light-headed. She vaguely heard the other kids up in the bleachers but she was concentrating on staying conscious.

"Let… Lash… you'll… freeze you…" Freeze Girl was struggling to get away from lash and she only caught a few words from her as Speed carried her around the arena. Bree felt her control slipping and decided to try something. She let herself go limp in Speed's arms, hoping that he would stop and set her down. Speed let out a low chuckle when she went limp and slowed down before he plopped her down in the corner.

"Bree!" Layla shouted, yelling at Boomer to do something. She wasted no time in pushing herself up and taking in her surroundings. Speed turned around quickly but she sent a wave of air at him, creating so much resistance that he could barely move forward. She heard the timer counting down the seconds left and turned her attention to Lash. Her body temperature started cooling rapidly as she concentrated on the boy, cooling the temperature around him.

Lash's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing and tried to unwrap himself from Freeze Girl. Catching on to what Bree was doing, Freeze Girl started freezing the parts of Lash that was touching her. The boy quickly started to disengage himself from the ice girl but she quickly froze him solid. Bree crossed her arms as she looked at her partner, wondering when she was going to realize…

"Help me out of here!"

"Why didn't you think of that before you froze him?"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"Uh, it's called science," she replied scathingly, turning just as the citizen was lowered into the mulcher. Boomer sat back in his chair with a slight smirk on his face as he watched the raven-haired girl walk out of the arena, leaving Freeze Girl stuck in Lash's arms as Speed moved over to his partner-in-crime. Bree quickly changed out of her gym uniform and back into her normal clothes before walking out into the gym.

"You almost beat Lash and Speed!" Zach said as she took her seat next to her friends.

"So?"

"They're undefeated! And they're seniors!" Ethan told her, a look of awe on his face.

"You know what they say: the bigger they are, the harder they fall." As she sat down she noticed Warren watching her, a slight frown on his face but he also looked at her curiously. Layla saw where she was looking and turned back to her friend with a small smile on her face and Bree just shook her head.

"If we get you the right partner, I'll bet you could take those two easy!" Zach predicted, looking thoughtful before Magenta and Bree burst out laughing, holding on to each other so they didn't fall off their seats. "What?"

"Don't worry about them," Layla said, ignoring the two girls and turning her attention back to the game going on below them. Magenta calmed down faster than Bree but they both finally settled into occasional giggles before launching into a conversation about anything and everything they could think of. Finally, Boomer told them they were free to go and Layla stood up, motioning to Bree that she was going to head out to the buses.

"You go ahead; I'll go check on Will and give him a ride if he needs one."

"You sure? You're not supposed…"

"I know. Don't worry about me; I'll see you later tonight." She waved off her friend and grabbed her bag, making her way to her locker.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sky High... if I did, I'd be one happy girl. I only own Bree... and any other unknown characters that may pop up later on  
Quick note... 'Fortezza' is Italian and roughly translates to Stronghold in English...**

_****A/N: Pictures are officially up on my homepage. Look for the album '**__Another Stronghold'__****  


* * *

Last time...**_

_…Finally, Boomer told them they were free to go and Layla stood up, motioning to Bree that she was going to head out to the buses._

_"You go ahead; I'll go check on Will and give him a ride if he needs one."_

_"You sure? You're not supposed…"_

_"I know. Don't worry about me; I'll see you later tonight." She waved off her friend and grabbed her bag, making her way to her locker._

----------------------------------------

"I know. Don't worry about me; I'll see you later tonight." She waved off her friend and grabbed her bag, making her way to her locker. The school was empty by the time she finished at her locker and when she turned around she was surprised to see Warren leaning casually against the wall behind her.

"Fortezza."

"Jesus Christ… don't do that." He raised an eyebrow at her as he pushed away from the wall and moved towards her.

"Scare you?"

"Yes, a little. I wasn't expecting anyone to… what are you still doing here?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Talking to me no less?"

"I just wanted to give this back to you," he told her, holding out the notebook.

"Oh. Thanks."

"Yeah. So, you and Stronghold, huh?" Bree frowned and looked over at him, wondering why he was walking with her and why he would ask that question.

"Are you making inquiries into my love life?"

"Well… No, I just…" She laughed softly when he gave up and he frowned at her. "Forget it."

"No, Warren, I'm sorry." He glanced down at her before meeting her eyes. "I'd have to get to know you better before I start explaining that to you," she tried joking and he almost smiled.

"Fine."

"Fine? What does 'fine' mean?" Bree asked, stopping him when she grabbed his arm. Warren looked down at where her hand was still on his arm curiously as he thought about how he wanted to answer.

"Fine means… well, you said you'd have to get to know me better, so I said fine."

"You mean, you're okay with it?" By this time they were standing outside Nurse Spex's office and she turned to look at him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he deadpanned, looking at her seriously and pushing her hand off his arm. She seemed startled by his action and raised her eyes to meet his.

"Because I know what it's like. When everyone is afraid of you and you're left by yourself. You just look like you could use a friend."

"I don't do friendship," Warren growled, turning away from her before she had a chance to say anything else. If he were to be honest with himself, she was right.

"Warren!" she tried, her voice pleading as she watched him walking away, debating on whether or not she should chase after him. Deciding to leave him be, she sighed helplessly as he disappeared around the corner. Bree bit her lip and took one step after him before she changed her mind and took off after him. "Warren, wait!"

Warren stormed down the hallway, wondering why he thought Bree would be any different than those so-called doctors Principal Powers had tried getting him to talk to. They all said they just wanted to be his friend and then they started prying into his life. He hated it and hated that he had let his guard down to the new girl. What bothered him was that he couldn't figure out why he had done it, why he had trusted her enough to do it. He pushed open the doors and made his way down the steps when he heard her calling his name.

Surprised, he paused and turned to see her running down the hallway after him. She opened the doors and looked slightly relieved to see that he hadn't left yet. Warren glared at her but she wasn't fazed as she made her way down the steps and stood in front of him, staying on the last step so they were almost eye-to-eye.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry."

"You're… why in the hell are you apologizing? Why can't people like you just leave me alone?"

"People like me? Tell me, Warren, what do you mean by that? You know nothing about me so don't assume I'm like whoever these 'others' are." She surprised him again by standing up to him and not backing down when he glared at her.

"So what do you want?"

"I want you to stop acting like an ass." Bree's eyes widened slightly when she realized what she said but didn't apologize or back away, just sighed inwardly to herself for letting her anger get the best of her. Warren, thinking he had her where he had everyone else at the school, took a step towards her, looking down into her eyes.

"You wanna say that again, Fortezza?"

"I said, I want you to stop acting like an ass," she replied coolly, her eyes locked with his. He straightened, studying her with a frown. "Now what?"

"You stood up to me."

"Well, duh. You haven't done anything to me to terrify me like you've terrified the rest of the school. So until then, get used to it."

"Listen Britt…"

"It's Bree."

"Whatever," he said, ignoring her icy response. "I didn't ask you to be my friend. I didn't need you to defend me in Mad Science. So whatever little plan you have for rehabilitating me, forget it."

"You think I had a plan to rehabilitate you?" she scoffed, crossing her arms. "Please. I just wanted you to know that you're not the only one who has issues, Warren Peace."

"Really?"

"Really. And I know that, no matter how much you insist you want to be alone, everyone wants someone they feel they can trust, besides their parents; someone their age. Not spill their guts out to, just to have someone there who doesn't judge them for whatever their father did."

"Don't talk about my father," he growled, moving up the steps until he was standing so close to her he could feel her light breath against his face.

"Fine. I won't. Just think about what I said. Maybe then I'll think about helping you with history tomorrow," she shot back, spinning away and jogging back up the steps. Warren leaned back when she turned but her long hair still brushed his face and he scowled at her retreating form, thinking about sending a fireball at her but thought better of it, since she was heading into the school.

Then, taking her advice, he did think about what she had said to him and as he replayed their conversation in his head he thought maybe she did know what she was talking about. Maybe he did need someone just to be there for him without grilling him for answers to questions he didn't want to answer or even thinking about in the first place. But as he made this realization, he also cursed himself for letting her get as close as she had to him.

Bree slowly made her way back to the nurse's office, replaying what she had said to Warren in her head and kicking herself for it. She wasn't overly talkative outside her small group of friends except for the occasional sarcastic comment or volunteering to answer a question in class. She couldn't figure out why she had gone off on him like she had. For a few years when she had been younger she'd hated Barron Battle, and subsequently Warren, for what had happened to her family but she hadn't known better then.

Warren probably hated her now, or at the very least was very pissed off at her, and that wasn't she wanted. She wanted to get him to understand that she wasn't like most of the kids in Sky High, she wouldn't judge him for who his father was, heaven knows she wasn't anything like her parents. Bree had started working on an apology by the time she arrived outside of Nurse Spex's office and let herself in, waving at Will who was sitting on one of the examination tables.

"Hey, little cousin."

"What are you still doing here? I thought you went home on the buses."

"Nah, I had to make sure little Willy had a ride home," she told him, ruffling his hair. Will scowled at her and pushed her hand away, sighing as he looked out the window.

"Did Layla tell you?"

"I got the gist of it. It'll be okay, Will. I'll make sure of it." Bree hugged her cousin, wanting him to know she was always there for him.

"What about dad? He'll go crazy when he finds out I'm a sidekick."

"You're not a sidekick, Will. You're Hero Support. You get to save the Heroes' asses when they're being dipshits and not paying attention." Will raised an eyebrow at her and had to laugh at the smile on her face.

"Only you could make Hero Support sound like so much fun."

"What can I say, I try. So, what'd Spex say?"

"Few bruises; I'll live."

"Good. I think I'd go insane without you." Will jumped down from the table and grabbed his bag before he followed his cousin out of the nurse's office.

"Knowing you, you probably would go insane."

"Thanks for your confidence in my sanity," she told him sarcastically, pushing the doors open.

"You're welcome." Bree rolled her eyes at him as they walked down the steps of the school, not noticing the lone figure in the parking lot that looked up when they exited the building.

"Do you want me to take you home or not?"

"Come on, Bree, you know I was just kidding." Will wrapped an arm around his cousin's shoulders, grinning at her when she scowled. She may have been a year older than him, but he was a few inches taller than her.

"I should just leave you here."

"But you won't because I'm your favorite person in the whole world." She sighed as they stopped at the edge of the school, handing Will her backpack.

"Fine, but only because you're my favorite person." She used her powers to levitate off the ground and reached under Will's arms to pick him up, much like her aunt did with her uncle.

"Hey Bree, do you know where you're going?"

"I have the GPS in my bag. Don't worry so much, jeez." Bree lifted him off the ground and floated carefully off the school, waiting for Will to pull out the gadget before she moved anywhere. Once she got her bearings, Bree headed off for the Stronghold home.

In order to avoid being seen, Bree headed towards the local park that was only a block away from their house, touching down under the cover of the trees. Will handed over her backpack before they walked out of the trees and made their way home, talking about how the rest of their day was. He couldn't get over the fact that Bree had let Freeze Girl, who she found out through Will was named Jordan, get stuck to Lash.

"You're terrible!"

"Well it's not my fault she didn't think about what she was doing! What did you want me to do, teach her science before we went out there?" Bree huffed, crossing her arms and pouting. Yes his cousin, Bree Stronghold, was actually pouting.

"You could have mentioned something to her."

"It's not my problem she can't figure that out for herself. I feel sorry for whoever her sidekick ends up being: he's going to have a full time job on his hands. And will probably make a better Hero."

"Bree, you're such a kind and caring person."

"Shut up, Will." She sent him a scowl as they walked up the sidewalk to the house and Will took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Ah, there they are!" Steve said as they walked in, sliding their backpacks off their shoulders.

"Hey, kids!" Bree smiled up at her aunt and uncle before making her way to the kitchen to get a drink.

"Man of the hour. And woman of the hour," her uncle added when he heard Bree's cough from the kitchen.

"Thank you very much." Bree closed the refrigerator door and went back to the dining room, leaning against the wall and watching her cousin carefully.

"Well, how'd it go?" Josie asked, smiling at her son and waiting to hear his response. For all that Steve was lacking in brains, Josie more than made up for it with her kindness.

"Dad, we need to talk." Bree smiled sadly at Will and he gave her a slight nod in response, looking up at his dad apprehensively.

"Ah, a little 'Hero to Hero' talk? I think I know just the place. Come on." She moved out of their way as they walked past her to the master bedroom and she quickly busied herself with helping her aunt finish preparing the table for dinner.

Bree was just sitting down at the table to start eating when Will and Steve came out of the bedroom, a large grin on her uncle's face and her eyes flew to Will, surprised. He gave a slight shake of his head and sat sullenly next to her, putting on a fake smile for his parents. She held her hand out to him under the table and when he took it she squeezed his hand comfortingly.

Will barely touched his food during dinner and excused himself after eating enough to satisfy his parents. Bree watched him go, wondering if she should go with him but decided to stay and talk with her aunt and uncle since they started firing questions off at her about her day. When they were satisfied with her answers, she put her plate in the sink and jogged quickly up the stairs to Will's room and heard voices drifting through the partially open door.

"…the end of the world. When life gives you lemons…"

"Make apple juice?" Bree smiled as she stopped in front of the window, leaning against the wall and watching her cousin talking with Layla.

"I can't make lemons. I don't know what it is."

"Yeah, but see, no. You have an awesome power and you could have made Hero easy."

"I'm not into labels," Layla said, shaking her head slightly and looking up at the sky.

"But why would you choose to be a sidekick?" Bree listened carefully for the redhead's response, not having heard this part of the story.

"Because I think the whole thing is stupid. Dividing people into two groups like that I mean… what is this?"

"High school?" Will replied, sending a smile in Layla's direction and she leaned over to nudge him with her shoulder. He nudged her back before she offered him the apple in her hand and Bree cleared her throat. "Oh, hey Bree."

"Am I ruining a moment?"

"Nah, we're just talking."

"Right," she said, raising her eyebrows disbelievingly as she looked at Layla. "Anywho… I'm heading off to bed, Will. You know where to find me. I'll see you tomorrow, Layla."

"Night, Bree." She waved at both of them before heading towards the door, hesitating a moment before going back to the window, a wicked smile on her face.

"And if you do anything, try to keep it down so I can sleep. Okay?"

"Bree!" She laughed and ducked the apple that Will threw at her head, waving goodnight and winking at Layla before she ran from the room when Will threatened to chase her down.


	6. NOTE TO READERS

**A note to all my wonderful readers:**

**First of all, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for reading my stories!! I'm glad everyone is enjoying them, or at least, that those of you who are reviewing and adding me to your alerts/favorites list are enjoying them! You can't honestly imagine how happy and giddy that makes me! :D**

**Second, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to be MIA for a few days, hopefully no more than a week, because of some personal issues I have going on and it's that time of year for college kids. Gotta love those finals… not.**

**Thank you all for putting up with my sporadic updates, I know I don't update often enough and nowhere near as often as I'd like. But, unfortunately, school does (or is supposed to!) come first. If I could major in writing FanFiction, I'm pretty sure I'd have a BA and a masters by this point! Hopefully with the arrival of summer I will have more time to devote to my writing and give ya'll something to do during the long months! Just remember to enjoy the sunshine once in a while ;D**

**Always… dani **


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sky High... if I did, I'd be one happy girl. I only own Bree... and any other unknown characters that may pop up later on  
Quick note... 'Fortezza' is Italian and roughly translates to Stronghold in English...**

_****A/N: Pictures are officially up on my homepage. Look for the album '**__Another Stronghold'__****

* * *

  
**_Bree woke up the next day and went though her usual morning routine, waiting for Will down in the kitchen as she finished her breakfast. He grabbed one of the breakfast sandwiches his mom had made for them before they made their way outside, meeting up with Layla as they walked down to the bus stop. Layla and Will sat down next to each other, leaving Bree to sit next to Zach on the bus, who immediately started asking questions about her powers and why she didn't just fly herself to school.

"Because that would draw attention to me."

"But you're a Hero!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I like the attention," she replied, settling back into the seats as the straps came down over her head. Zach was quiet for the rest of the ride, something Bree was eternally grateful for, and she concentrated on the rest of her day.

The bus landed on the school and the small group got off together, moving to sit on the front steps as they waited for the first bell to ring for homeroom. Bree and Magenta were having a heated but friendly argument about their favorite bands and were completely oblivious to their friends and everyone else around them. It wasn't until Bree felt someone nudge her knee that she looked up, catching sight of a tall, dark figure walking past them. She locked eyes with Warren but said nothing, gave no indication that she had talked to him before as her friends watched the exchange curiously.

"You wanna explain that?" Will asked, his eyes going back to his cousin once the school bad-boy had walked away.

"Explain what?"

"You and Warren?"

"Me and Warren? There is no 'me and Warren'. Nothing's going on. He's in my homeroom and a few of my classes. That's it. Why, Will, are you trying to insinuate something?"

"N-no! I'd never… especially not with…" Bree laughed at her cousin's reaction, flipping her hair out of her face when the wind picked up. Before she had a chance to respond the bell rang and the small group got up to head inside the school for their classes.

The day seemed to drag on for Bree as she did her best to ignore Warren whenever possible, even in the classes they had together where they were partners or sitting next to each other. The looks he sent her told her he was confused but not unhappy about her actions. She hurried out of her Language class and made her way down to the lunchroom, looking around for Will or Layla.

"Bree!" Glancing up, she saw Will waving to her from a table against the far wall and waved back to let him know she'd seen them before hurrying into the lunch line. She went for the least repulsive looking food the school offered today – which happened to be salad – and walked over to the table her friend's had claimed as their own for the day.

"Hey, y'all. What?" she asked, frowning at the amused look Layla sent her. "Oh, I did it again, didn't I?"

"Our own little Texan girl," Will teased, earning a scowl from his cousin.

"Yeah, yeah. How's everyone's day going?"

"Well, _mom_," Will started and everyone laughed when Bree hit his arm.

"That's not funny, William."

"Don't call me William!"

"Quit acting like I'm your mother!" she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "Besides, we both know I'm the least mature out of the two of us." Will rolled his eyes but didn't continue the argument and instead focused on digging into what the school decided passed as 'food'. Once lunch was over Bree reluctantly said good-bye to her friends and packed up her bag for the rest of her classes.

* * * *

Since there had been no incidents during the day Will and Bree took the bus home, giving Bree's aching muscles a reprieve after gym. Once home, they watched TV for a few hours before they set up their books in Bree's room and went about finishing their homework together. His cousin had been unusually quiet since lunch and even as they worked, a time when they usually talked about everything, she was quiet and Will wondered if something was bothering her. He wanted to ask her but knew if he were to do that he'd just get the cold shoulder.

Bree was the more 'suffer in silence' type of girl, to quote her favorite book; she had always been that way. He wasn't the touchy-feely kind of guy either but he knew when his cousin was hurting or when something was bugging her and it was a big deal for him if someone had done something to her. Thinking back to the start of the day, when Warren had walked past and shared that look with Bree, he hoped to god that wasn't what was bothering her; he loved his cousin but there was no way he was about to face Warren in a showdown over Bree's honor, not that she'd even let there be a showdown over her honor.

"So, Bree…"

"Jesus, would you quit looking at me like that?" He looked up in surprise at her words only to find her watching him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm fine!"

"Well, I thought maybe…"

"And that's your first problem right there, you were thinking."

"Very funny." She grinned and turned back to her homework, ducking too late when he threw his pen at her.

"Bree? Would you mind going to pick up dinner?" Bree sighed dramatically but closed her books without a word and stood up, stretching for a moment as she looked around for her purse.

"No problem, Josie! Where is that damn thing?" she muttered to herself, still digging around her desk for the small purse. Will covered his mouth to hide his laugh but she heard him and spun around, her eyes narrowing. He simply pointed at her bed and hoped she would be distracted from beating him up. "Knew there was a reason I kept my cards in my pocket…"

"Sure, Bree. Hey, can you pick up some root beer on your way home? Because you're an awesome cousin?"

"You're damn right I'm an awesome cousin," she retorted, pulling out her card holder and making sure it had her driver's license inside before shoving it in her back pocket. "I should get a freakin' plaque for the things I do."

"I'll get right on that."

"Bite me." Will grinned and mock-saluted her as she left the room, running down the stairs and waiting at the kitchen island expectantly.

"Sorry about this, honey," Josie said, adjusting her cape as she walked into the kitchen. "But Steve and I need to run for a few hours."

"No problem, Josie. Where am I going and how much is it?"

"Here, don't you even worry about paying for it. I called in at the Paper Lantern, I hope you kids don't mind Chinese food tonight?"

"Nah, Chinese is fine with me. Is there something for Will or can I let him cook for himself and see if he tries to burn the house down again?" Josie laughed fondly at her niece and hugged the young girl, placing a few bills in her hand.

"There's something for him in the fridge. You make sure he does his homework and eats something."

"Will do. Go kick butt!" Bree waved at her uncle before the two left the house and she walked to the stairs, shouting up them to let Will know she was leaving.

* * * *

The Paper Lantern was her favorite Chinese place… okay, it was the _only_ Chinese place that she would eat at. Bree wasn't a big fan of foreign foods but she was picky enough to not try everything at least once. The place wasn't unfamiliar to her but she rarely ate inside the small, homey restaurant. She felt a little out of her element but walked quietly up to the counter and waited for someone to come over.

"Can I help you?" Bree looked up at the lady behind the counter, just about to open her mouth when another voice interrupted her.

"I got this, Leah." She tried to pull her eyes away from the figure that was walking towards the cashier's counter but was unable to get her body to listen to her mind. "Hey, Bree."

"Warren," she managed to get out, her eyes doing a quick inventory of the man in front of her. "So… um, you work here."

"Yeah. Your total is $13.64." Bree silently handed over one of the bills her aunt had given her and waited as Warren dug out her change. "$6.36. And here's your order."

"Thank you." Warren just nodded as he handed over the change and the bag, their eyes locked as each tried to figure the other out and Bree gave him a slight smile before turning away.

"Listen, Bree…" She stopped and looked back at him, waiting for him to finish his thought. "Would you mind… uh…"

"History notes again?"

"No. Language 23?"

"Oh! Um… sure, I could talk to you about it tomorrow."

"Sure." Bree reached out and grabbed his wrist, smiling when he looked up at her warily.

"Keep the change," she told him, placing the bills in his hand and turning away. She didn't wait to see what his response was, just smiled to herself as she walked out the door.

* * * *

Will was sitting in the living room when she finally returned, jumping on her immediately and searching her for his root beer. With a laugh she handed him the bag from the convenience store down the street and ran with the Chinese food into the kitchen, Will hot on her heels and ordering her to hand over his food. The two wrestled each other for first dibs on their favorite chicken before Will finally relented and let Bree dig in first.

With a delighted squeal she dug around for the rice and grabbed the first container of orange chicken before claiming a spot on the couch in the living room. Will followed a few moments later, setting the container of chili from the fridge on the table in front of the sofa as he plopped down on the ground in front of Bree, flipping on the TV and surfing for a movie they both liked. Will didn't miss the look of contemplation on his cousin's face as she watched the movie and she tried to play it off casually but when she missed her favorite scene he knew something was up. She didn't offer an explanation and he didn't ask her about it, but his curiosity had been peaked. They finished eating just before the movie ended and Bree stretched, patting her younger cousin on the head and wishing him a good night as she made her way up to her room for the night.

* * * *

When Bree walked into homeroom the next morning she locked eyes with Warren before he returned to his book, ignoring the rest of the world. She popped her gum and tucked a lock of hair self-consciously behind her ear as she walked to an empty desk in the back of the room. Using the desk in front of her, she propped her feet up on the seat and relaxed back, pulling out a sheet of paper and scribbling a quick note on the corner. The rest of the ten minutes were spent with her nose buried in her notebook, dead to the world.

The bell rang but she hung back for a few seconds until the rest of the class was up and out of their seats, finally pushing herself up and walking past Warren's desk to drop the small note into his book before walking out of the room, not once looking at him. They didn't talk to each other except for when they had a partner project, didn't let anyone else know that they knew each other outside of class. She had to take extra care, too, because Will was starting to get curious about her actions. Sometimes her cousin was able to read her easier than she would have liked.

Before lunch, Bree found Layla at her locker and let her know she had other plans for lunch. Layla tried to pry more details from her friend but the raven-haired girl wouldn't offer up anymore information other than she 'had plans'. The red-head finally gave up and waved her friend off. Bree made sure Layla had gone to lunch and that no-one else from the group was around before she made her way to the library. Somewhat to her surprise Warren was already waiting for her by the audio books section, checking out the study rooms as she approached him, glancing around to make sure no-one was watching her.

"Any open?" He glanced back at her before motioning silently to the room he was standing by. She waited for him to go in before she realized he was holding the door open for her. Bree ducked into the room, flipping on the lights as she set her bag on the table, settling down in a chair as she waited for him to join her. She was prepared to tell him not to sit across the table but he surprised her by sitting in the chair next to her, his head down as she focused on his gloves.

"You eat?" he ground out, still avoiding her eyes.

"No, you?" When he shook his head she pulled open her bag and set the containers on the table, close enough so that they both could easily reach them.

"What's this?"

"I hope you don't mind Chinese," she said with a sheepish smile. "Otherwise I've got peanut butter." His eyes moved between her and the containers in front of him before he cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Nothing. You're just…"

"Different?"

"Surprisingly normal," he said, sitting up a little straighter and reaching out for a container.

"Is that good or bad?" Bree asked, grabbing a piece of Crab Rangoon out of its container before setting it back down.

"The jury's still out on that one." She rolled her eyes but at least he seemed more like the Warren she saw at the Paper Lantern as opposed to the Warren she from school. They ate for a few minutes in companionable silence before Bree set down her rice, clearing her throat.

"So, what did you need help with?"

"I was talking to Miss Linde about this project I've been working on and she said to have someone else look over it so I had a different view on it."

"And you chose me?

"Um… yeah. You're writing all the time and Miss Linde suggested you so…"

"What are you working on," she asked as she dug around in her bag for her notebook and a pencil.

"It's an independent project, poetry I guess."

"Poetry?" she frowned, taking the notebook from Warren and missing the look on his face as she flipped past the cover.

"What's wrong with…"

"Nothing! I'm just wondering why she told you to come to me. I couldn't write poetry if my life depended on it."

"She said something about you being a good editor.

"Only 'cause I read a lot and critique my own writing worse than someone who gets paid for it." Her eyes widened as she continued to flip through the notebook, skimming over each page of writing.

"What now?" he asked, seeing the expression on her face.

"This is really good. You wrote all of these by yourself?"

"Yeah," he replied, watching her warily.

"Um…" Bree sighed, pressing her fingers against her forehead as she thought. "This is going to take some time to go through. Especially if you want me to checkout all of them?" Warren shrugged, he just wanted an opinion, and he looked u pin surprise when her pencil hit his chest.

"The hell was that for?"

"I can't work with a shrug."

"You're annoying, you know that?"

"So I've been told," she responded nonchalantly, shrugging as she packed up the food containers and stealing another Crab Rangoon. "Are you okay with me taking this to look over it?

"I guess. Could I give it to you after school? I'm in the middle of a few things…"

"No problem. I'll wait around on the front steps?"

"I'll be in the hallway when you're done changing." She handed over the notebook without a word and watched as she slid it into his backpack.

"Do you like fortune cookies?"

"What?" he asked, more out of surprise and curiosity than anything.

"Do you like fortune cookies? Te gusta las galletas de fortunas? I'd try French but if I knew it…" She grinned when he cocked an eyebrow at her an just shook his head.

"Yeah, I like 'em."

"Awesome, 'cause I hate them. Taste like cardboard so…" She grabbed his hand and dropped a cookie into his hand, her fingers sliding gently over this skin of his wrist and the back of his hand as she pulled away. "I'll see you later, then." He nodded at her and silently slid her pencil across the table, barely catching the 'thanks' that fell from her lips before she was out the door, the bell signaling the end of lunch following a few heartbeats later.

She was a mystery, someone who didn't make much sense to him at all. On the one hand, she was the same as all the teachers and counselors, always wanting to know how he felt or if he was okay. Bree may not have said it outright but he'd gotten so used to the questions that he could see it in people's faces, in their eyes. She fit the 'popular' description to a T: pretty face, bubbly attitude and personality, the right kind of clothes, got along with all the teachers. On the other, she gave him his space (well, she at least didn't push him for answers), left him alone even though she was curious to know what was going on in his head. She was popular, most people in every clique knew the raven-haired girl but she stuck to her small group of friends. Her bubbly personality was part of a mask she wore, only masking the pain she was harboring for whatever reason. All in all, she was so normal that she was different, and Warren wasn't sure if it was a good thing he was thinking that hard about her.

* * *

**A/N: I would love it if I got a review just to let me know if people are still reading this... even if all it says is 'hi'. Oh, and I would LOVE some constructive criticism! Just please be gentle ;)**

grabbed the first container of orange chicken


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